1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to controlling the temperature of a heat-generating component. In particular, the invention relates to controlling the temperature of a heat-generating component such as a laser that can tolerate operating slightly above ambient temperature.
2. Background Technology
When a component in a device such as a laser generates significant heat during operation, the extra heat can interfere with proper operation of the device. The extra heat, thus, needs to be removed and the component needs to be cooled or otherwise maintained at a constant temperature.
Currently, laser temperature is controlled with thermoelectric coolers (TECs). A major drawback with the TECs is that they require continuous and therefore usually considerable power compared to the power that is required by the component that generates heat (e.g., a laser diode). TECs generally consume, due to Joule heating, more power than is being pumped. Thus, the actual heat being pumped is more than twice the heat generated by the device being cooled. What is needed is a method and apparatus for precisely controlling the temperature of a heat-generating component while consuming significantly less power than the TECs.